Lee Seung-chul in feud with JYJ fans over cover song

The feud between Korean ballad singer Lee Seung-chul and K-pop band JYJ’s fandom is deepening due to a dispute over the promotion method for Lee’s remake of a song originally sung by Junsu.

Lee released a song on the soundtrack for SBS drama series “You Are All Surrounded” on June 5. The song “I’m in Love” was initially sung by Junsu as part of his second solo EP.

The controversy sparked as JYJ fans claimed the way “I’m in Love” was promoted was improper since it did not mention the original song. The fandom implied that the publicity was done as though the track was an original by Lee.

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After the composer and Junsu’s aides explained that they had granted permission for the remake, the fandom and Lee seemed to have reached an understanding. However, it was back to square one when Lee posted a contentious opinion on his fan site.

“It is customary not to state the original singer for remakes. Furthermore, a wiser way to help Xia (Junsu’s stage name) is to help ‘I’m in Love’ top the music charts. I feel bitter as (fans) would rather push the near 50-year-old singer with 30 years of experience to make a public apology without respect or solicitude,” Lee wrote on June 4, reigniting anger from fans.

“It all started out as the cover of ‘I’m in Love’ was revealed on ‘You Are All Surrounded’ as a surprise, leaving fans in doubt,” Junsu’s management company, C-JeS Entertainment, said.

According to the agency, the original soundtrack production company stated that “I’m in Love” was a new song in its press release, which provoked fans.

“Since this is not a dispute with the singer himself, I hope sunbae -- esteemed senior -- would not have misunderstandings. And fans of Junsu were just being supportive as to clarify the credits for the original singer,” the agency added in an effort to appease the two parties.

Meanwhile the original soundtrack production company told Star News, a Korean entertainment news agency, that “the error was done as (we) hurried the job.”